Comcast Is Trying to Be the New Netflix

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. When Comcast launched their online streaming service, Watchable, last fall, it wasn’t greeted with much fanfare. The service only had videos from places like VICE and Vox that you could get elsewhere online. But now, Watchable is following in the footsteps of Netflix and creating its own original content.

“Watchable Exclusives” will premiere original series from the service’s partners, like Refinery29, mitú and Cut.com. Refinery29’s show, Ballin on a Budget, will follow comedienne/rapper Awkwafina through NYC as she tries to live like a mogul with a pauper’s wallet. Later in the year, designer Rachel Antonoff will star on a show from POPSUGAR where she raids the spaces of people like Aidy Bryant and the REAL LIFE Lisa Frank.

Original content, as Netflix can attest, is one of the best ways to incite a cult following and ensure that your product can’t be replaced by the next thing that comes along. You can start watching the shows from Watchable’s iOS and Android apps or from a Comcast setbox, if you haven’t yet cut your cable.